Why have I not a thousand thousand hearts, Lord of my soul! that they might all be thine?
If thou approve,-the zeal thy smile imparts, How should it ever fail! can such a fire decline?
Love pure and holy is a deathless fire; Its object heavenly, it must ever blaze: Eternal Love a God must needs inspire, When once he wins the heart and fits it for his praise.
Self-love dismissed 'tis then we live indeed;
In her embrace, death, only death is found;
Come, then, one noble effort, and succeed,
Cast off the chain of self with which thy soul is bound.
Oh! I would cry, that all the world might hear, Ye self-tormentors, love your God alone;
Let his unequalled excellence be dear,
Dear to your inmost souls, and make him all your own!
They hear me not.-Alas! how fond to rove In endless chase of folly's specious lure!
'Tis here alone, beneath this shady grove,
I taste the sweets of truth,-here only am secure.
I AM fond of the swallow ;-I learn from her flight,
Had I skill to improve it, a lesson of love :
How seldom on earth do we see her alight!
She dwells in the skies, she is ever above.
It is on the wing that she takes her repose,
Suspended and poised in the regions of air;
'Tis not in our fields that her sustenance grows,
It is winged like herself, 'tis ethereal fare.
She comes in the spring, all the summer she stays,
And, dreading the cold, still follows the sun :-
So, true to our Love, we should covet his rays,
And the place where he shines not immediately shun.
Our light should be Love, and our nourishment prayer;
It is dangerous food that we find upon earth:
The fruit of this world is beset with a snare,
In itself it is hurtful, as vile in its birth.
'Tis rarely, if ever, she settles below,
And only when building a nest for her young;
Were it not for her brood she would never bestow
A thought upon anything filthy as dung.
Let us leave it ourselves ('tis a mortal abode)
To bask every moment in infinite Love;
Let us fly the dark winter, and follow the road
That leads to the dayspring appearing above.
THE TRIUMPH OF HEAVENLY LOVE DESIRED
AH! reign, wherever man is found,
My Spouse, beloved and divine!
Then I am rich and I abound
When every human heart is thine.
A thousand sorrows pierce my soul
To think that all are not thine own:
Ah! be adored from pole to pole;
Where is thy zeal? arise; be known!
All hearts are cold, in every place,
Yet earthly good with warmth pursue;
Dissolve them with a flash of grace,
Thaw these of ice, and give us new!
A FIGURATIVE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCEDURE OF
DIVINE LOVE
IN BRINGING A SOUL TO THE POINT OF SELF-RENUNCIATION AND ABSOLUTE ACQUIESCENCE
'Twas my purpose, on a day,
To embark and sail away;
As I climbed the vessel's side
Love was sporting in the tide ;
"Come," he said, "ascend! make haste,
"Launch into the boundless waste."
Many mariners were there,
Having each his separate care;
They that rowed us held their eyes
Fixed upon the starry skies;
Others steered, or turned the sails
To receive the shifting gales.
Love, with power divine supplied,
Suddenly my courage tried;
In a moment it was night,
Ship and skies were out of sight;
On the briny wave I lay,
Floating rushes all my stay.
Did I with resentment burn
At this unexpected turn?
Did I wish myself on shore,
Never to forsake it more?
No:-" My soul," I cried, "be still!
"If I must be lost, I will."
Next he hastened to convey
Both my frail supports away;
Seized my rushes; bade the waves
Yawn into a thousand graves :
Down I went, and sunk as lead,
Ocean closing o'er my head.
Still, however, life was safe;
And I saw him turn and laugh:
"Friend," he cried, "adieu! lie low
"While the wintry storms shall blow;
"When the spring has calmed the main,
"You shall rise and float again."
Soon I saw him, with dismay,
Spread his plumes and soar away;
Now I mark his rapid flight,
Now he leaves my aching sight;
He is gone whom I adore,
"Tis in vain to seek him more.
How I trembled then and feared
When my Love had disappeared! "Wilt thou leave me thus," I cried, "Whelmed beneath the rolling tide?" Vain attempt to reach his ear! Love was gone, and would not hear.
"Ah! return, and love me still;
"See me subject to thy will!
"Frown with wrath, or smile with grace,
"Only let me see thy face!
"Evil I have none to fear,
"All is good, if thou art near."
Yet he leaves me,-cruel fate!
Leaves me in my lost estate!
"Have I sinned? Oh say wherein?
"Tell me, and forgive my sin!
"King and Lord, whom I adore,
"Shall I see thy face no more?
Henceforth, all my will to thine:
"I consent that thou depart,
"Tho' thine absence breaks my heart;
"Go then, and for ever too;
"All is right that thou wilt do.”
This was just what Love intended,
He was now no more offended;
Soon as I became a child
Love returned to me and smiled;
Never strife shall more betide
"Twixt the bridegroom and his bride.
A CHILD OF GOD LONGING TO SEE HIM BELOVED
THERE'S not an echo round me,
But I am glad should learn
How pure a fire has found me,
The love with which I burn.
For none attends with pleasure
To what I would reveal;
They slight me out of measure,
And laugh at all I feel.
The rocks receive less proudly
The story of my flame;
When I approach, they loudly
Reverberate His name.
I speak to them of sadness,
And comforts at a stand;
They bid me look for gladness,
And better days at hand.
Far from all habitation,
I heard a happy sound Big with the consolation That I have often found: I said, "My lot is sorrow, "My grief has no alloy; The rocks replied-" to-morrow, "To-morrow brings thee joy."
These sweet and secret tidings
What bliss it is to hear!
For, spite of all my chidings,
My weakness and my fear,
No sooner I receive them
Than I forget my pain,
And, happy to believe them,
I love as much again.
I fly to scenes romantic
Where never men resort;
For in an age so frantic
Impiety is sport;
For riot and confusion
They barter things above,
Condemning, as delusion,
The joy of perfect love.
In this sequestered corner
None hears what I express;
Delivered from the scorner,
What peace do I possess !
Beneath the boughs reclining,
Or roving o'er the wild,
live as undesigning
I And harmless as a child.
No troubles here surprise me,
I innocently play,
While Providence supplies me
And guards me all the day,
My dear and kind Defender
Preserves me safely here,
From men of pomp and splendour
Who fill a child with fear.
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